Soybean, corn growers discount EWG report
August 15, 2014 | 12:00 PM
The American Soybean Association and the National Corn Growers Association are discounting a report by the Environment Working Group Thursday that children who go to school within 20 feet of a corn or soybean field will be in danger if the Environmental Protection Agency approves a new herbicide.
“EWG has determined that 487 elementary schools across America are within 200 feet of a corn or soybean field,” the group said in a news release that accompanied the report.
“This finding is alarming because young children are especially vulnerable to the toxic herbicide 2,4-D in Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist DuoTM, a weed killer mixture that is awaiting governmental approval for widespread use on new varieties of genetically engineered corn and soybeans.”
But the ASA and NCGA said they had confidence in EPA and Agriculture Department assessments that the herbicide is safe.
“There are a great many holes in EWG’s argument, but the largest and most inaccurate is the assumption that products like 2,4-D, which pass the most stringent and exhaustive safety evaluations in the world at EPA and USDA, are anything less than absolutely safe,” the ASA said in an email to The Hagstrom Report.
“Americans should be completely confident in EPA and USDA’s repeated affirmation of the safety of these products, and that our farmers, whose children attend these schools too, are fully dedicated to farming in a safe and sustainable manner."
The National Corn Growers Association agreed.
“We are happy with the science-based regulatory system that is in place, and we recognize that EPA and USDA have increased their scrutiny to ensure these products are safe,” the NCGA said in an email.
Meanwhile, EPA is coming closer to approving the herbicide after an Agriculture Department report recommended it, the Associated Press said in an article this week, and farmers are looking forward to using it to fight weeds that are resistant to glyphosate.
▪ Environmental Working Group — Elementary School Students at Increased Pesticide Risk
▪ Associated Press — Decision could boost use of popular weed killer
“EWG has determined that 487 elementary schools across America are within 200 feet of a corn or soybean field,” the group said in a news release that accompanied the report.
“This finding is alarming because young children are especially vulnerable to the toxic herbicide 2,4-D in Dow AgroSciences’ Enlist DuoTM, a weed killer mixture that is awaiting governmental approval for widespread use on new varieties of genetically engineered corn and soybeans.”
But the ASA and NCGA said they had confidence in EPA and Agriculture Department assessments that the herbicide is safe.
“There are a great many holes in EWG’s argument, but the largest and most inaccurate is the assumption that products like 2,4-D, which pass the most stringent and exhaustive safety evaluations in the world at EPA and USDA, are anything less than absolutely safe,” the ASA said in an email to The Hagstrom Report.
“Americans should be completely confident in EPA and USDA’s repeated affirmation of the safety of these products, and that our farmers, whose children attend these schools too, are fully dedicated to farming in a safe and sustainable manner."
The National Corn Growers Association agreed.
“We are happy with the science-based regulatory system that is in place, and we recognize that EPA and USDA have increased their scrutiny to ensure these products are safe,” the NCGA said in an email.
Meanwhile, EPA is coming closer to approving the herbicide after an Agriculture Department report recommended it, the Associated Press said in an article this week, and farmers are looking forward to using it to fight weeds that are resistant to glyphosate.
▪ Environmental Working Group — Elementary School Students at Increased Pesticide Risk
▪ Associated Press — Decision could boost use of popular weed killer
